To enter into safe mode if you can boot your phone normally:
Press and hold the Power button till you see the power menu.
Tap and hold Power off until you get a prompt to Reboot to safe mode.
Tap OK.
Wait for your phone to reboot. In the bottom-left corner, you’ll see a Safe mode watermark.
If your phone won’t boot normally because of the infection, try these steps to boot a powered-
off phone into safe mode:
Press and hold the Power, Volume up, and Volume down buttons.
Once you see your phone’s logo appear, let go of Power but continue holding the Volume
buttons.
You’ll see a Safe mode watermark in the bottom-left once your device boots up.
Due to hardware manufacturer differences, this may not work for every device. Try a quick
Google search for your phone to find its safe mode combination if neither of these do the trick.
Once you have entered Safe Mode, go to Settings > Apps > Downloaded. On Android Oreo or
newer, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > See all X apps instead.
If you can’t uninstall an app through this menu, it likely has Device Administrator access. To
remove that access, follow these steps:
Go to Settings > Security > Device Administrators (Settings > Security & location > Device admin
apps on Oreo and newer).
Locate the app and tap the checkbox next to it.
Tap Deactivate when prompted.
Now you can go back to the list of apps and uninstall it as described above.
Android Phone Virus Aftermath: Cleaning Up
After uninstalling malicious apps, you might also want to clean up your Android device while
you’re at it. Clearing the cache and history, cleaning up the startup processes, and other basic
steps can assist in making sure your device is good to go.
Unfortunately, Android cleaning apps are typically full of junk, ads, and placebos. Follow our
guide to cleaning your Android phone to make it easy. If you want a one-tap solution, CCleaner is
a good app for removing unnecessary files without any fuss. It’s unfortunately added some bloat
recently, but it still works well enough.
The 1-2-3 Guide to Spring Cleaning Your Android Smartphone
The 1-2-3 Guide to Spring Cleaning Your Android Smartphone
If your Android phone has started slowing down after a bit of time, here's how you can speed it
up again!
READ MORE
Once you’ve cleaned up your phone, we recommend you back up your Android data if you
haven’t already. This will make it much easier to recover from future issues when they arise.
Kick Android Viruses to the Curb!
Unfortunately, if you’re sure you have malware on your device but none of the above solutions
fix it, you’ll likely have to factory reset your phone. A reset means you will lose precious data, but
that’s better than using a compromised phone.
If you experience issues in safe mode, your problem may lie with the OS or hardware, not a
virus. Your phone may even have come with malware apps pre-installed.
In such cases, your best bet may be buying a different device.
For the best security, make sure you also know how to upgrade your Android phone!
How to Upgrade Your Android Phone Without Buying a New One
How to Upgrade Your Android Phone Without Buying a New One
Upgrading your Android phone can be expensive, so how can you get the most out of your
current device?
READ MORE
Image Credit: Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock
Explore more about: Anti-Malware, Antivirus, Malware, Smartphone Security.
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Ben Stegner
1330 articles
Ben is a Deputy Editor and the Sponsored Post Manager at MakeUseOf. He holds a B.S. in
Computer Information Systems from Grove City College, where he graduated Cum Laude and
with Honors in his major. He enjoys helping others and is passionate about video games as a
medium.
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